Saturday, May 12, 2012

National Shrimp Day

"Civilization as it is known today could not have evolved, nor can it
survive, without an adequate food supply." - Norman Borlaug

At this point, I think it's safe to say that Sophie's Kitchen and I are like totally biffles! They graciously sponsored National Crabmeat Day, National Spanish Paella Day, National Shrimp Scampi Day,
and today's food holiday. I'm not totally sure what I would have done
without their support as I attempt to eat the year (as vegan as
possible), so I wanted to extend a personal thanks to Sophie's Kitchen
for simply existing. Because of companies like them, eating more
compassionately/sustainably/healthily is totally doable and delicious
(which is why I think a lot of people stray away from a plant-based
diet; they assume everything we eat is bland and difficult to make).

Today, I got the chance to try Sophie's Kitchen Breaded Vegan Shrimp
(which are soy, cholesterol, GMO, trans fat, preservatives, and MSG
free . . . but are a totally awesome source for protein, fiber, calcium,
and iron). With a little oil on a skillet, I lightly fried them to
golden perfection. I was really impressed with how similar, though
larger, these were to the popcorn shrimp I ate in my youth. Remember, I
live in a state where there's more than 3,000 miles of coast line;
there are loads of mom and pop style seafood restaurants all over the
place (even in my town, and I'm 40 minutes from the coast). This is a
girl who's eaten her weight in fried shrimp (and scallops, clams,
haddock, etc.), and Sophie's Kitchen breaded shrimp
is a very close imitation to the original thing (they taste the best
straightaway after frying them up - don't let them sit around for any
length of time). They're definitely my second favorite of the products
I've tried from SK so far (I seriously can't get over those sexy, sexy crab cakes).

Sophie's Kitchen was started
because of, and named after, the owner's little girl named Sophie. She
loved seafood, but was terribly allergic to it. Not wanting to take any
chances with her health, the creator's of Sophie's Kitchen
decided to create a line of products that are taste-test approved by
Sophie herself (aren't kids like the pickiest eaters in the world? If
Sophie's approving these awesome and sustainable alternative's to
seafood, there's a good chance you're gonna like 'em too!).

And remember: we don't really live on "Planet Earth" if three-quarters of our earth's surface is ocean. According to Protect Planet Ocean
(a more appropriate name for where we live), "The sheer number of
people who use and depend on the ocean, and the sometimes unwise
practices we adopt, have created problems such as overharvest of
resources, reduction in biodiversity, and degradation of marine habitats
and species, among others. We risk the very ecosystems on which our
survival depends."
Sophie's Kitchen is doing their part to protect out most important resource... are you?

MANDATORY ENTRY:
All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me how you would eat/prepare/serve your Sophie's Kitchen vegan seafood
(i.e.: very soon I plan on trying the breaded vegan fish fillets and
having fish and chips British style in newspaper with loads of vinegar!
Om nom nom.)

Contest ends Tuesday night, May 15th at 11:59pm EST. Giveaway is open
to U.S. residents only. Using Random.org three (3) people will be
selected as the winners, and will be contacted via email. Winner will
have 48 hours to respond to notification with shipping info. If no
response, another winner will be chosen. See contest rules for more
information. No purchase necessary – void where prohibited by law.
Disclosure: prize provided by the giveaway sponsor.

Happy National Shrimp Day!

Disclaimer: The product(s) featured in this review were
provided free of cost to me by the manufacturer. Opinions expressed are
totally my own and are NOT in anyway influenced by monetary
compensation.

1 comment:

I still haven't tried anything from Sophie's Kitchen, but I've heard a lot of positive things about their products. I'm sure whatever I tried would involve lots of malt vinegar and a healthy amount of lemon squeezing! Would there also be baked fries present? My sources say yes.

About Me

Southern Belle vegan mom to 4 sons, 1 daughter-n-law, grandmere to 1 fantastic grandson, his royal highness King James, 3 cats and a komodo dragon, 7th generation Floridian on my daddy's mama's side; 1st generation on my Mama's side. Rutgers SCARLET KNIGHT alum/fan. University of Florida GATOR alum/fan. Currently living west of the Mississippi, because Houston is one of the best kept secrets in the country.